Once Upon A Time: The Pied Piper of Hamelin
by Wonder Woman 1982
Summary: Isabella has been around for... well, quite a long time. She's currently on the path to find The Pied Piper of Hamelin, who has lured 100's of children to their death since the 1200's. When Edward, quite literally runs into in the streets of Seattle, will he hinder her journey or will he be an asset? Not your normal fairy tale. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

_Something I want to try out. Short chapters like my other stories (most likely). I own nothing. Let's boogie._

_**Once... long, long ago...**_

_The witch knew that her days were numbered. The sleepy village that she had called her home for many years had found out her secret. She wasn't a bad woman, mind you. The village children loved her but her secret was found out when the king's baby daughter fell ill. _

_The King and Queen were distraught. There only child, Isabella, a daughter with chocolate eyes, pale skin and mahogany hair, was born too early. They brought in the finest physicians from the land, but nothing they did would make the baby healthier. _

_One day, the witch, disguised herself as a young maiden and gave the story that she was sent from a neighboring kingdom to help their Majesties. _

_The King was weary, as a woman didn't offer a place as a doctor. A maid or even a nursemaid, a lady in waiting, absolutely, but not as a doctor. However, the his Majesty was desperate. Anything to save his baby. She was so small but still so admired._

_That night, the witch made a potion that she mixed in with the Queen's food and told the queen to feed her daughter promptly in two hours; long enough for the potion to kick in._

_The Queen did as she was instructed and fed the baby promptly two hours after she ate her food, not knowing that she had taken the potion. That night, as the baby lay sleeping, the witch crept into her room and cast a spell of enchantment upon the baby._

"_When the sleeping babe should wake, the sickness gone by morning's light. Her destiny will show in age, she will be brave and she will fight. May she always stay strong, never losing a breath. The babe will never know of death. Of all life's joys she will not miss, her life shall truly begin with true love's kiss."_

_The witch smiled and nodded. Not only will the babe never be able to grow sick, but she would never be able to die. She would never grow old and she will always be beautiful. She would, however, have a destiny to fulfill._

_When the babe had miraculously healed overnight, the Queen and King were overjoyed, however suspicious. Nothing any of the other doctors did worked, yet, this strange maiden comes in and makes everything magically... Magic! _

_The witch made away with haste and hid away in her cottage in the woods. She had meant no harm to the baby, but what was done was done. Perhaps, she had made a mistake in making the babe heal too quickly. She just couldn't stand to see a child in pain, as Isabella was. _

_The sound of hooves thudding on the soft grass alerted her to the presence of the King's guard. She stood, stoic, and walked outside to meet them. Her back straight she walked to the head guard and turned herself in. Her fate was sealed._

_Before she was beheaded she looked to the closed her eyes and smiled. Perfectly content with the choice she made. Isabella would grow up to be something special, one day. She just knew it._

_**Present Day...**_

_**BPOV:**_

The hustle and bustle of the big city doesn't do much to hide the scent of evil. I was raised, well, let's say a super long time ago. I'm revered in this world. There are even legends about me and some of them are hilarious and some are flattering. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

The Pied Piper. I've been chasing him since I can remember. The sick bastard. He lures children to their deaths. They've written the legend about him and I think Disney even did a rendition of his story where kids could praise him about his ridding the town or rats using his magical pipe.

Back in the 1200's this guy lured 100's of children to their deaths. I wasn't around yet, but I know the truth. I have this thing that's kind of like, spidey senses, and it alerts me when I am close to my target. He's close. Picking a big city like Seattle was smart of him, I'll give him that. My sharpened sense of smell alerts me to the right and as I try to take off to run, I'm knocked over onto my ass.

"Son of a bitch!" I groan as I hold my head. I may not die, but I still feel pain. A pair of the greenest eyes I've ever seen peer at me upside down.

"I'm so sorry. Let me help you up." This deep voice offered, concerned. A big warm hand helps me up and it's all I can do not to lose my breath when I stair at the man before me. He's beautiful. Could men be beautiful? I shake my head and try to smile at him. The scent of the Piper was fading fast. I cursed internally, because it wasn't this guy's fault.

"No harm, no foul." I assure him and go to pick up my bag and head my own way. I could not let this man distract me again.

"You should really let me check your head." He smiles at me and reaches his head to my skull and rubs a tender spot. I winced and he sucks a breath through his teeth. "You've got a little bit of a knot. My dad could probably look at it." He tells me.

"How old are you kid?" He cocks an eyebrow at me.

"18. How old are you?" I lie and tell him I'm also 18. I don't age and the day of my 18th birthday I stopped. "Well, if you're not doing anything, maybe you would like to have lunch with me? I just enrolled here at Udub and I don't know a lot of people." He trailer off and blushed.

The scent was gone now and I wanted to curse myself for letting him get away. So close. I don't want to turn on the tv tomorrow to find that there were another number of children that had gone missing.

I turn to this guy and huff. "Sure. What's your name?"

"Edward." I cock an eyebrow. That's a pretty old name. "What about you?"

"Isabella. But you can call me Bella."


	2. Chapter 2

_So... Not much of a response for the first chapter. That's okay. Hopefully this story will pick up some readers, though._

_**BPOV:**_

We walked through the streets of Seattle, my senses never faltering, hoping to catch another trail on the Pied Piper. Edward was a chatty thing. I did sneak a glance at him every so often. He's well built. He looks strong and healthy.

"So, how long have you lived in Seattle?" He asks me, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"Not very long." It wasn't technically a lie. I've never lived here. An extended stay, maybe. "You're from here? Or..." I wasn't good with small talk.

"Actually, yeah. Well, my folks just moved up this way. We're originally four hours away in a town called Forks. Ever heard of it?" He squints down at me. It's one of those rare sunny days up here.

"Can't say that I have." I reply. "So, school huh? What's that like?" I ask him as we make our way into the diner. The smell of hamburgers and pizza assault my nose and my mouth instantly waters.

"It's interesting. I just started. Going to be a doctor, like my dad." He smiles as he orders himself a Coke and a double cheeseburger. I look at the server and tell her I'll have what he's having. I'm not usually one to have a lunch date. Or any kind of date for that matter.

My eyes scan the street outside. Always scanning and searching. Some people would want to know why I chose to do what I do. And it all started when I was very young.

_The kids in the village were laughing and playing and I sat at my window from the castle sighing wistfully, wishing I could play with them. My chambermaid brushed my hair gently and patted me on the head._

"_One day, Isabella, you will have friends, just like that." She said sweetly and I looked up to her and tried to smile. My parents wouldn't let me out of the castle, for fear of being kidnapped._

"_Mother and father wouldn't allow it, I'm sure." I grumbled. I was only 6 but I couldn't have been more right._

_That night, I watched from my window as a man with green clothes came by the village. It was dark and nobody else was awake, except for me. I heard a soft melody being played by a flute. It was haunting._

_One by one, I saw a few children leaving their cottages, still in their night things. They started to follow a man down the dirt path and I panicked. I ran down the corridor and down the stone steps to the heavy front doors of the castle._

"_Whoa there, milady. Where do you think you're going this time of night?" The guard chuckles. "Off to bed with you." He turns me around and tries to send me off to my room._

"_There are children out there!" I scream. "A man is playing a flute and they're following him. Please! You have got to help them!" I yell and the guard kneels down and looks into my eyes. _

"_You're sure about this, milady?" I nod and he opens the door, telling me to stay inside. Drawing his sword he makes his way toward the village but comes back a few moments later shaking his head. "Milady, there was nothing out there. You must have been having a bad dream. Now, off to bed with you."_

_I skulked back up to my room and looked out my window again, only to see the man turn around with eyes as red as blood and his evil smile on his face._

"You okay? You look like you kind of spaced out there for a second." Edward asks me as he snaps his fingers in front of my face.

"What? Oh yeah. Just thinking." I smile tightly, which was sure to look like a grimace. "What were you saying?"

"I was asking where you're from? What's your story?"

"Uhm." I start out. "I'm originally from Europe." I tell him. Not a lie. He says he doesn't notice an accent. "Oh, Army brat." I don't technically lie. My father DID lead several armies in his day. "I lost my parents awhile back so I'm just kind of fending for myself these days."

"No brothers or sisters?" He asks.

"No. Only child. What about you?" I ask to get the subject off of me.

"I was an only child up until about 6 years ago. My parents adopted a set of triplet girls, Tanya, Kate and Irina. They were just babies and their parents died in a house fire. The state was looking for a home and my parents couldn't have any more kids so they took them. I'm gonna' have my hands full being a big brother when they get older. Total spitfires." He smiles and I find myself smiling back.

We eat our food and talk about mundane topics. Mostly about him. I tried to steer clear of answering anything about myself; afraid I would give away too much.

When we were done he rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and blushed. "Listen, Bella. Could I, uh. Could I get your number? Maybe we can do this again sometime?"

I don't know why I blushed. I never blush but I agreed and took his cell phone, punching in my number and calling my phone. "There. Now I have your number too, yeah? Give me a call sometime." I tell him.

He takes my hand, brushes a kiss over the back of it and bids me a farewell. As I was leaving I couldn't help but feel a set of evil eyes watching my every move. And as I took a deep breath I smelled the faint scent of the Piper.


	3. Chapter 3

_Got a few more reviews. Love it! I was asked what time period Bella was from, so I'm going to go with the 1600's. Also, I was asked if the Cullens were vampires or going to be... You'll just have to wait and see :) I have some great ideas and twists and turns ahead. Thanks for reading! Let's boogie._

_**PPPOV**** (Oh yes. I'm going there)**_

That insolent little girl thinks she will be able to find me; to hunt me down. I smirk as I watch her with the Cullen boy. He has no clue who he has a little crush on. The infamous Isabella Swan, daughter of King Charles and Queen Renee, doted upon by all who had ever met her.

She and I had a lot in common, of course. I didn't always want to lure children to their deaths. I, too, was never allowed to play with the other children in my village. Not that I was a rich child by any means, no, I was considered a freak. The other children would taunt me and laugh at me and I would simply, well, kill them. It soon became an issue with the townsfolk as they were too afraid to do anything about it and my father was forced to uproot us on more than one occasion.

It didn't help that my father blamed me for my mother's death. She was raped by a vampire and had gotten pregnant with me. My father and mother had tried and tried for a child, as he had told me, and when my mother had become pregnant with me he was overjoyed. Of course, when I was born it was the 1200's and there weren't modern marvels with the science world in that time.

I ripped and tore through my mother's body to come into this world. My father was appalled, but couldn't bear to kill his only son, not that he could. I was strong and I was fast. My diet consisted of food but I always had a thirst for blood.

At a very young age I knew right from wrong and could sense when someone was a very bad person. Those were the people I would kill for their blood. In turn, my eyes remained a ruby red color. The townsfolk called me a demon. If my poor father wasn't moving us because I was a perpetual fuck up, he was moving us to save me from the ridicule. A saint, he was. And since I was such a lonely child, I dabbled with music. A flute, in particular.

And one fateful night, I learned just how powerful my music was.

_I had wandered into a nearby town. My father need not be burdened with me any longer. I had made his life hard enough and I wanted him to have some sort of happiness. He was a good man and loved me unconditionally, and as best as he knew how._

_I dared not go into the town so late at night so I camped out on a path but still able to bathe in the soft glow of the fire lamps from the town. After eating what little bread I had brought with me I pulled out my flute and began to play, softly so as not to disturb the townsfolk._

_The haunting melody wafted through the night air and I closed my eyes and just let my heart play. The sound was so very sad. Inhaling deeply I smelled young blood and my mouth watered. I would fight the urge, however. Not this time._

_More of the delicious scent wafted over me and when I looked up, there stood four children who looked to be no older than 10. My mouth filled with venom and I closed my eyes to try to focus enough to tell them to go home but as soon as I opened my mouth to speak a growl came out. _

_Instead of the children running in terror, they stood, staring blankly at nothing. Glancing at my flute, I picked it up and started to play as I backed further into the woods. They followed. I knew this was wrong, but it had been so long since I had fed. _

That was the first night that I knew what gift I had possessed. Now, I'm not completely heartless, I do feel some remorse when I take their young lives, but something inside of me tells me that it needs to be done. It is my destiny. As time went by it got easier and then just became a way of life.

"Well, well, well. Looks like Cullen has three little sisters." I mused as I picked my teeth with a bone. The sickly boy I had lured away last night did nothing for me. Just as well, though. I did his parents a favor.

After I watched the Cullen boy leave I looked once again at Bella and waved from my perch, knowing she couldn't see me, but taunting her, nonetheless. Catch me if you can.

_**EPOV**_

My cousin Alice told me something wonderful would happen to me today. Of course, I'm usually skeptical of her psychic mumbo jumbo but she had been right, as she usually is. I literally ran into Bella. Not the most romantic of meetings, but I was glad that I did.

When she agreed to have lunch with me I was over the moon. I was still fairly new to the city, only having visited throughout my childhood, and although there were quite a few overly friendly females at Udub, I wasn't interested in any of them.

Bella was beautiful; almost etheral. She has this otherwordly glow and charm and I wanted to pick her brain. I wanted to see what went through her head. She seemed skittish but maybe that was because I was a dumb ass and knocked her over.

She asked plenty of questions about me and avoided questions about herself. I chalked it up to her being a private person.

Arriving home, I greet my mother in the kitchen and snatch a cookie off of the plate while she swats at me. My sisters giggling like mad at the counter while they watch her bake. I wink at them and head up to my room.

Picking up my phone, I call my cousin Alice. "So, you had a good day, I take it?" I could hear the smugness creeping out of her voice.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Tink. I literally ran into a girl." I groaned. She guffawed and I flipped her off through the phone.

"Good job, Edweirdo. So, what's she like?" She asked in her overly excited girl voice. Alice was very excitable.

I stop and think about Bella for a moment and smile. "She's gorgeous. Maybe a little cryptic or standoffish? But, from what I got from her she seems to be a great girl. She gave me her number." I smiled.

"That's great news, Edward! Look, I have to go. I have class in like 10 minutes. I want to meet your new girlfriend, Eddie." She laughs and before I can tell her not to call me that, she hangs up on me.

That night I dream of a brunette beauty in tight black clothes and instead of grimacing most of the time she smiles, a lot.


End file.
